'Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi': The tale of five friends with a raft on the Brisbane River

It started as a suggestion thrown around among five friends on Australia Day in 2017. One year on, it culminated in the group floating down the Brisbane River on a makeshift raft, shouting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" to stunned onlookers and receiving a strong wave of "oi, oi, oi" back.

The local men who took on the daring voyage have become social media sensations and they hope to return bigger and better next year, with plans to start an annual raft race.

They had tossed around the idea of a voyage on the Brisbane River last year and turned their idea into a reality on Friday.

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"We always said we wanted to sail down the Brisbane River once in our lives," Mr Buckley said.

"Last Australia Day, we were in the pool and one of us said it would be funny if we made a raft and sailed down the river."

So, on Thursday afternoon the five friends hatched their grand plan, declaring "stuff it, let’s a build a raft”.

The raft under construction on Thursday evening.

Two jumped onto Facebook 'buy and sell' pages where they bought six 44-gallon drums, while the remaining three went on a Bunnings run for timber.

With all five men working in the construction industry, building the 2.4-square-metre raft only took about 90 minutes.

On Australia Day, the friends drove into the city in four separate cars, two were left at Kangaroo Point Cliffs and the other two were parked at the Riverside Drive boat ramp at West End, where the raft was launched about 11am.

However, the five friends encountered their first obstacle within minutes of setting sail, when a water police vessel confronted them.

When asked what they were doing, the friends simply replied with, "we’re going to go for a sail down the river”.

After much discussion with the officers, the group were told to stay to the right of the river, well clear of the ferry channels, and not to disturb the public.

"If you get in the way, we will turn you around," the police warned.

So, the raft set off once again, with the aim of letting the current take them around to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, where the other cars were parked.

On board, they had an Australian flag flying proudly in the breeze and a full esky.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity with a great view,” Mr Buckley said.

The raft floated down the river for an estimated two-and-a-half hours, with the water police periodically watching the vessel along the way.

"People in GOMA were at the windows taking video and photos," Mr Barnes said.

"We also yelled 'Aussie Aussie Aussie' to people on the boardwalk and bridges along the way, and we got really positive responses of 'Oi Oi Oi'.

"The only people who weren't impressed were the Invasion Day protesters crossing the Victoria Bridge, but we didn’t say anything back to them because we would all be happy if the date was changed."

However, water police pulled the plug on the voyage about 2.30pm near South Bank.

The five friends' voyage down the Brisbane River comes to an end.

When police stopped them for a second time, the friends were struggling against the tide, which had turned and started pushing them back up the river.

Their two oars weren't enough and they had resorted to diving into the river and trying to push the raft themselves by kicking in the water.

The police pushed the raft closer to the riverbank and the passengers abandoned ship.

They used Uber to get back to their cars, dismantled the raft on the riverbank and took their vessel (in pieces) back to their homes, storing it for a potential return.

Despite having not reached the cliffs, the friends declared the voyage a success.

“It was the most Australian thing we’ve ever done," Mr Barnes said.

"We were stoked. We all just got together, pitched in and did it.”

The Brisbane men said the ride along the river was smooth sailing and have started thinking about organising an annual Australia Day raft race on the Brisbane River.

They also hope to build a bigger raft next year, with plans to add a shaded section and handrails to the vessel. Guests would be welcome on the vessel next year, with tickets available upon request.